AN: WOW! I got a prompt! That honestly made me the happiest person alive! It is TOTALLY fine for you guys to give me prompts! It is more than fine in fact! I shall do my best to fulfill any prompts to the best of my ability :')
And so, here is a kind of Prequel to 'And He Carried Her Through The Storm': What if Enjolras rescued Éponine from her father's beating? I've edited it a bit so that this takes place kind of during the Attack on the Rue Plumet :) Enjoy!
Unbeknown to Marius and Éponine, Enjolras followed them to Cosette's house on the night before the barricade was built. Of course, at first he went to keep an eye on Marius; he didn't want his friend to get too carried away and propose to her or anything stupid like that. But then he caught the way Éponine looked at Marius when he wasn't looking. It was a look of love, and happiness, but also of pain and disappointment.
And that interested Enjolras. He had never quite understood why people pretended to feel something different to what they were actually feeling, but here it was happening right in front of him. It wasn't unknown that Éponine had a thing for Marius; yes, she was a fighter and she got herself in her fair share of sticky situations, but there were times when she really did follow Marius around as if she was a puppy and he was her owner.
'So why on Earth was she helping Marius find his true love?' was the real question that had struck Enjolras as he had slipped away from the commotion inside the cafe. Which brought him to where he was now, following Éponine and Marius down a maze of streets, always staying out of sight; he wasn't stupid after all, and knew that Marius would happily punch him without any reservations if he found out.
Enjolras noted how Éponine stood back as Marius approached the girl of his dreams at her garden gate, the two expressing their love for each other. The pain was clear on Éponine's face, and Enjolras frowned; was his friend really so blind that he could not notice Éponine's so obvious feelings? Perhaps it was so, as he seemed to have eyes only for the girl he had spotted momentarily across the street.
Enjolras remained behind the wall as Marius and Cosette conversed, watching both the loving couple and Éponine, trying to decide which of the two left him more annoyed.
A man's voice rang out, supposedly Marius' love's father, calling Cosette inside. Marius watched after her as she ran back to the house, before turning around reluctantly, passing both Éponine and Enjolras without even noticing them.
Éponine stood there, apparently trying to hold herself together as different footsteps echoes down the side street. Enjolras backed further into the shadows to avoid detention, and a group of men passed by his hiding place, their voices ringing out.
"Who is this hussy?" Thénardier sneered. Enjolras grimaced angrily; was the man so stupid that he didn't recognise his own daughter in the night?
"It's your brat Éponine, don't you know your own kid?" one of his idiot gang voiced Enjolras' own thoughts.
"Éponine, get on home, we're enough here without you." Thénardier said, walking past her and waving her away. Éponine looked around desperately.
"I know this house, I tell you," she said desperately, "There's nothing here for you! Just the old man and the girl, they live ordinary lives!"
"Don't interfere," Thénardier said, his voice quiet but harsh, "You've got some gall. Take care, young miss, you've got a lot to say-"
"I'm going to scream, I'm going to warn them here!" she said, a hint of defiance added to the desperation in her tone.
"One little scream," Thénardier said, his voice sharp and warning, "You'll regret it for a year."
Éponine looked around desperately, before screaming as loud as she could. This caught Enjolras' attention, and he leaned forward to look around the side of the wall. Éponine did not cower in front of her poor excuse of a father as he threatened her.
"You wait, my girl, you'll rue this night, I'll make you scream-" Éponine had no reservations when it came to spitting in her father's face, "You'll scream alright!"
Enjolras was on the verge of breaking point; how dare he treat Éponine, strong, beautiful Éponine, in such a way as that?!
The crack of Thénardier's palm connecting with Éponine's face pushed Enjolras over the edge.
"If I were you, monsieur, I would think before I act," Enjolras' said, his voice careless, but the threat unmistakable, "But I am not you. And therefore, all I can do is strongly suggest that you keep your hands to yourself." Éponine met his eyes and she shook her head slightly, warning him away from the situation.
"Oh, you do, do you?" Thénardier sneered, approaching him.
"That's right, monsieur." Enjolras said, looking down slightly at the pathetic excuse of a man.
"I think this little boy needs to be taught a lesson!" Thénardier laughed threateningly.
Enjolras scoffed, "I beg you to try," he said, spreading his arms out to welcome the men to have a go, "But I will warn you: I am a revolutionary. I am armed with more than one weapon and I am certainly not afraid to go down fighting. Oh, and..." he cocked his head slightly, listening, "I believe your daughter has alerted the police. So, do please run along, monsieur, because, frankly: you're both boring me, and wasting my time."
Thénardier stood back slightly, glancing around to his followers. They all looked to him for guidance.
"Make for the sewers," Thénardier said suddenly, "Go underground!" the men scattered, leaving Éponine alone with Enjolras.
"Why did you do that?" she asked as he approached her.
"Because your father is an ass." Enjolras said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "And he hurt you."
"That was nothing," she muttered. Enjolras frowned, confused, "My father is not the only ass I live around." Was the only explanation Éponine offered him. Enjolras brushed her cheek, red from the hit. She flinched away slightly, then leaned into his hand, smiling at the warmth on her face. Drops of rain fell onto the pavement, then onto the two of them, progressing from a few drops to a downpour in a matter of seconds.
"Come," Enjolras took her hand in his, "It won't do us any good standing out in the rain." She smiled, leaning against his arms as they walked.
"Thank you," she said quietly, "Not many people would have stepped in."
"I'm not many people," Enjolras shrugged, "And, for the record, I, er... I think Marius is an ass. And a blind one at that." Éponine grimaced, but shrugged.
"Perhaps he is," she muttered, "Are you an ass?"
"I sincerely hope not," Enjolras chuckled, "Grantaire may disagree."
"I don't believe you're an ass," Éponine told him seriously, "Spirited, maybe. Not an ass."
"Thank you, mademoiselle," he nodded. The two of them were soaked through by the time they reached the cafe, and they received several suggestive glances from members of Les Amis de L'ABC.
The two separated, Éponine going back to the small room she called home to change, and Enjolras into the very centre of the planning for the next day's revolution. But, beneath their apparent distractions, neither forgot the few short minutes they had spent together. And both of them secretly wished for more time like that.
Feel free to drop me a review if you see fit, and if you want to send me a prompt, please do go ahead! Thanks for reading!